REVIEW: Kashi GoLean Vanilla Graham Clusters Cereal

Kashi GoLean Original is a stand-by cereal in my pantry, on account of the huge amount of protein found in one serving of the stuff.

...Well, admittely, 13g isn't THAT much- but for cereal, that's about as good as it gets.

With 13g of protein, and an admittedly mild enough flavor that you can't accuse any aspect of it to be all that wrong, Kashi Original is a solid cereal. But, but, butttttt... And I mean  DO mean but- sometimes it just gets a little boring. Anything can after awhile, you know. But when you get bored of Kashi's GoLean Original, what other cereal can you turn to for a huge amount of protein and a decent taste? Tell me! What? WHAT???!!! Why, Kashi's GoLean Vanilla Graham Clusters, of course! Just LIKE Kashi's GoLean Original, except with two less grams of protein. And the added taste of vanilla. And graham. And clusters. And the box is blue. And yeah.

A 13.2 oz. box costs around $3.99.

A 1 cup serving (51g) contains 170 calories, 10 of them being from fat, 1.5g of total fat, 0g of saturated fat, 0g of trans fat, 0.5g of polyunsaturated fat, 0g of monounsaturated fat, 0mg of cholesterol, 85mg of sodium, 350mg of potassium, 36g of total carbohydrates, 9g of dietary fiber, 9g of sugar, and 11g of protein.

This cereal looks nearly identical to Kashi GoLean Original in every way, except for the wee oat clusters that pop up once every blue moon. And seriously- don't think these oat clusters are like granola-sized chunks- they are wee. And I mean WEE. They're like little oat beads. ...Well, maybe not beads, but they ARE small. We also have your mix of fiber twigs, puffed rice, and soy protein crisps in this cereal.

Okay, first off- Do NOT eat this cereal dry. Blech. Blech, blech, blech! It's like eating the worst sweetened cardboard you have ever tasted. Kashi probably tried to make this cereal sweet, but it was about the fakest, ickiest kind of sweet I ever had. It wasn't even that sweet. It gave me shivers... Uggggggh. Like this would be the first cereal that'd pop into your mind that you'd have as a snack without milk anyway, but still. Please don't. Don't eat this dry. Don't even pop a little into your mouth as your pouring some cereal into a bowl of milk... Just... don't. Sigh... I don't mean to bash on a completely unrelated cereal here, but... Have you ever tried Fiber One's Honey Squares? WORST. CEREAL. EVER. And THAT is what THIS Kashi cereal tasted like dry. So there. (And now it seems like the Honey Squares Cereal has been taken off of Fiber One's site. Forever. Good riddanceeeeee!)
But don't worry, mon frère- this cereal is safe to eat in milk. You can really taste the graham in the fiber twigs, and the flavor of vanilla is mild, yet soothing. It also remains crunchy for a very long time in milk, and isn't that bad at all. I prefer my bowl of Vanilla Graham with a little sweetener though, since the taste is rather mild and on the not-so-sweet side of the cereal spectrum. The clusters, while small, bring a relative pinch of sweetness to the mix and a slight dash of oat-y heartiness.

So when eaten dry, this cereal is the devil. DO NOT EAT. No bueno. Just... just gag me with a wooden spoon already...
But when eaten with milk, this Kashi cereal is actually quite delectable. It needs a little sweetener, but hey! So does Kashi's Original cereal too. When you compare these two side-by-side, they're pretty much the same thing with the same mix of cereal. The Vanilla Graham Clusters cereal does however, add mild tones of graham and vanilla to your bowl of breakfast cereal, as well as small oat clusters to keep things somewhat interesting. I think if you're bored of your usual Kashi GoLean Original, or just want a more uniquely flavored protein cereal, then this Kashi product is for you. I'd buy this flavor of GoLean again- maybe go back and forth between this and the Original version, who knows?
I'd give Kashi's GoLean Vanilla Graham Clusters Cereal a 7/10.

What Kashi cereal should be reviewed NEXT? Let us know in the comments below!

Till' then', this has been RiRi ri-porting!